Month: August 2018

Office work started pouring in like heavy monsoon. I know typhoons very well because I am from Asia and not just any part of Asia but right in the region of the “Ring of Fire”. Work is work and you do what you have to do.

It was late in the day and work is moving like a baby with its tiny steps. Coffee has been my serious life saver for the whole week because.. to give you a retrospect, I was in Bali the week prior, flew back for work while he spent more time in Java and then proceeded to fly to Malaysia a few short days later. I received texts from him about where he is in Kuala Lumpur and what he has been doing the whole morning. We keep in touch as much as we can especially when you are gifted with short but special moments to spend time in the same time zone together. It was a pretty normal adventure kind of day for him and he’s pretty much happy spending the last leg of his trip in a more modern city. He “complained” how Indonesia is very outdated and connectivity is not even a word. I’ve been to Malaysia quite a few times myself, with friends and family, and they were good trips to say the least. To me, it was safe and I know now that that last statement was only half truth.

We kept chatting and maybe overly sharing about what we’ve been doing at the time. But, we like it that way. He was buying some stuff and was about to return to his hotel in Ampang. A few busy minutes later, he replied with a surprising message. He was back in his room but all his cash was gone. Together with his credit card! He, then, started telling what happened between the buying of stuff in the mall and his way back to the hotel.

H: Well, I’m waiting for my Grab because I will go back to the hotel after a good afternoon of shopping.

P: Aha. Okaaaaay. There is an African drug dealer guy that we are searching for in this area. And since I’m a police, I shall advice you to stay away from this spot.

H: Oh no. Okay, I understand. I’ll just change the pickup point. *click click click*
Alright, great I moved the pickup point.

P: And because I am that good of a police, I shall do my duty to identify you and inspect you and search your bag for anyting illegal. You know, protocol. Unless you want to go to the police station (for no reason) and get you inspected there.

H: Oh, I don’t want to go to the hassle of going to the police station. And also, I have booked a Grab to the hotel.

P: Well, good choice. Let’s start with your passport then…
Ok good. Not Moroccan.
Now, let me dig into your stuff!
Aha, okay… some coconut chips, a coke, an umbrella, a wallet.
Pretty normal. Nothing illegal.
Ok, then you are off to go. Thank you for letting me do my job.

He reached to his pocket to pay the cab driver and found everything gone. All his Malaysian ringgits and Euros and even his credit card. He went on to ask the taxi driver to wait for him as he try to withdraw from an ATM but, worse comes to worst, his card didn’t work.

I’m pretty sure we can disagree on how the conversation went between him and the so-called “policeman”. But we can agree on the challenge of identifying a scam right away when a scam is deviously wearing a coat of authority. If I were in that moment, I may have fallen to the same scheme. Trusting police officers or anyone, in general, start as default to me, especially in a world that you believe there’s goodness in everyone (I know, cliché). But, we’ll have to start reminding ourselves again that not everyone have good intentions and we’ll have to be constantly be taking measures to protect ourselves, maybe not directly from them because we won’t ever know who is what, but taking measures by being one step ahead of them. Separate your money and let your wallet not be the most obvious target inside your day bag. Print out copies of your passport and important documents. Bring body bags if you feel the need to. And be prepared for the worst cases like activating overseas access to your other cards. Letting know close to you where you are and what you have been doing. Protect yourself with travel insurance.

No one can tell when it’s going to happen to you. But when it happens, you got to be ready, like a brave firefighter who’s always ready to respond. These things are the reality of traveling. Some are lucky to not have experienced such things. Some are not so lucky and they’ve learned their lessons. But these things shouldn’t stop us from exploring the world, alone or not. “The world wants to be noticed.” And, it sure is worth noticing! Keep traveling.